MOREHEAD, Ky. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball shocked Morehead State University with an 80-73 victory Tuesday evening in Morehead, Kentucky. The Screaming Eagles rise to 8-20 overall and 5-10 in OVC play, while the MSU Eagles are 20-8 overall, 11-4 OVC.
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With the win, USI takes command of eighth in the OVC standings. The Screaming Eagles are a half-game ahead of ninth-place Tennessee Tech University and only two games back of seventh-place Eastern Illinois University. USI has three games remaining in 2023-24, while TTU and EIU have four contests left in the regular season.
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The top eight teams at the end of OVC play advance to the league tournament March 6-9 at the Ford Center in Evansville.
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USI and MSU battled back and forth through the first 10 minutes before the MSU Eagles used an 8-0 run to lead 23-16. The Screaming Eagles would close the gap to one point, 26-25, with an 8-3 surge before going into the intermission trailing by one 31-30. Overall in the first 20 minutes, the game feature six lead changes and three times.
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USI junior forward Jack Mielke (Downers Grove, Illinois) led the way for the Eagles in the opening half with 13 points that include four three-point buckets.
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In the second half, USI quickly jumped out to a six-point lead, 39-33, with a 9-2 run. The Screaming Eagles ran the lead to eight points, 47-39, on a three-pointer by junior guard Jeremiah Hernandez (Chicago, Illinois).
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MSU bounced back with a 11-3 rally to tie the score for the fourth time in the game, 50-50. Mielke and sophomore guard Ryan Hall (Kettering, Ohio) grabbed the momentum back for USI with back-to-back three-point bombs, igniting a 10-1 run to get the Screaming Eagles back in control 60-51 with 7:21 to play.
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USI had to withstand another MSU Eagle rally as they cut the Screaming Eagles’ advantage to two, 72-70, with 1:10 left. Hernandez put USI back up four, 74-70, with a bucket with 45 seconds to play before MSU got back to within two with 35 seconds left, 74-72.
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USI sophomore guard/forward AJ Smith (Edwardsville, Illinois) sealed the USI victory with four-straight free throws put the Screaming Eagles back in control the 78-72. USI junior guard Sam Mervis (Indianapolis, Indiana) capped off the scoring for the Screaming Eagles with two charity shots before a final MSU free throw in the 80-73 victory.
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Overall, USI outshot MSU, 49.1 percent (26-53) to 45.1 percent (23-51), and outrebounded the MSU Eagles, 34-23. The Screaming Eagles also were a blistering 19-of 20 from the stripe (95 percent), converting eight-straight trips to the line in the final five minutes.
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Individually, Hernandez led the Screaming Eagles with a game-high 28 points and is averaging 29 points per game versus MSU this season (the junior guard scored 30 versus MSU in the first meeting in January). He was 10-of-17 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers, and six-of-seven from the stripe.
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Smith followed with 18 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, while Mielke added three points in the second half and finished with 16.
